At Sotheby’s
Auction of works by contemporary international artists to raise funds for the £10m expansion of the Whitechapel Art Gallery

Friday 13 October 2006

Nine AM worked with the Whitechapel Gallery and Sotheby’s to organise a major auction that raised 2.8 million GBP towards the Gallery’s expansion and future Exhibition and Education programmes. The Whitechapel Gallery launched an ambitious £10 million expansion plan which incorporated the former library next to the Gallery. The development increased the gallery space by 78% and gave the people of East London more opportunities for learning by trebling training and education facilities.

The plans, designed by leading Belgian architects, Robbrecht en Daem Architecten, were unveiled for the first time in early 2006. A new Collections Gallery was designed to provide public access to important art collections, along with a Commissions Gallery, which provided a new platform for an annual art commission. Also, a permanent gallery for the Whitechapel’s 100-year-old archive was designed, along with an Education and Research Tower, which included a research centre, education studios and galleries.